To Be Part of the Team
by Borrowed Twenties
Summary: How is it like to be part of the team, really? A sequel to To Be A Leader and a story written based on a suggestion of Becky Sky.
1. Prologue

I am starting a sequel to **To Be A Leader**, which I posted previously as my first COTT fanfic ever. This was suggested by Becky Sky in one of her comments, of which I held a poll next to determine who should I write about. After all, I wasn't going to write about everyone, though, now that I think about it, I wouldn't mind to. This will feature four people from COTT whom has been voted for in the polls. The poll is now closed (the one on my profile), but you can see the results. Those that are tied, I'll just use some random ballot probably to pick one. Hope you enjoy this new installment to the To Be... series!

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own COTT at all, and this idea was from Becky Sky, so kudos to the both of them.

**Prologue**

Seven teenagers.

Destined to save the world from an evil god.

It is their fate, and they embrace it, for they are all part of the team, and without even one, the team would be lacking.

All are important; essential to the team.

Yet their duty to the world and the gods aren't a piece of cake either, and their special talents mightn't always pull through. But without one, as I shall reiterate, the task would be impossible.

They have their own views of who they are as well, and now you'd get to hear them from four of them.

And then you'll finally know...

That their duty isn't as easy as it seems...


	2. To Be A Lucky Charm

Here is the first official chapter, and this is going to be something about one of the most comedic characters to ever walk in COTT. I know I will have to take on the form of a narcisstic and egoistical person, but never mind, it's going to be fun all the same. I think I will feature some depth in here. Recently, I've been somewhat touched by this character. He seems not to care about the team, but he actually does call them his friends and worries for them and their safety, as seen in **Forget Me Not**, which is one of the coolest episodes ever. And also, he has lately been becoming more useful, like asking for a picture from Eris in **Applet of Discord** and so on. Yes, he has well and truly touched me(:

**To Be A Lucky Charm**

Oh, I know it, I _so_ know it.

No one needs to tell me I'm the hottest, cutest person ever to scale the planet. It's no wonder I'm a supermodel. After all, who wouldn't want my face plastered all over the city like it is now? They're only recognising my good looks and putting them to good use, but I think they're not using my face enough.

Alright, I'm sure you've heard of the all-great Neil. That's who I am. I'm the guy with the best looks in my team of friends that even Jay can't rival that. Many girls drop to my feet, sighing and wishing they could get on a date with me. Okay, so maybe that's a little on the exaggerating side, but it's true.

On the down side, I think my talents are being totally wasted ever since I've joined the gang of seven to defeat Cronus. After all, what do they want from me? I'm no hero material. Well, I _am_, technically - why wouldn't I be, I would look _that_ great in tights that would put Superman to shame - but I have better things to do. And now, I face off with a mad, demented god who is mistakenly believing that he can destroy us. Oh, I mean, come _on_, once Neil's in the team, no one can bring us down. And that god is apparently too mentally retarded to tell.

Although I'm a supermodel and all, I only do it part-time now, irritatingly so. That defeat-Cronus time is really sucking all my free time, not to mention energy. And worse, it's making my skin deteriorate! I mean, half the time I'm stressing over which fingernail Cronus time is going to break next, and whether I might actually lose my conditioner on the way. It's making my head ache. Well, at least I don't get zits - a person like me would _never_ get zits. And I don't worry as much as Jay does, thankfully. It's a wonder that guy keeps his head on.

You know, of all of them, I'm the most useful? That wouldn't come as a surprise to you, really. You see, Jay is the leader - he's calm, down-to-earth and he's smart and strategic just like the intelligent brainiac Odie, and then Herry is super strong. Atlanta, Archie and Theresa can fight really well, but then, although I don't really fight all that much, I'm the best, because... I'm their _lucky charm_.

Luck would naturally come to such a good-looking guy like me, obviously. I mean, what better skills would a supermodel be equipped with? Now, don't go thinking that I'm just some slacker, because I'm not. I'm always giving them the brightest inspirations, and then I always get them out of a sticky situation. My luck is always handy, almost to the point that I solve almost every problem. A tiny problem would be that now they're always chucking the hard, luck-related jobs to me, but I don't sweat it much - I'm good, baby, I'm good. Without my awesome luck, we wouldn't be here today. And my confidence is enough to be shared with everyone else, especially Odie and Jay. It can even go two times round. That's how good I am, but I'm sure you don't need me to tell you, because you already know it.

Anyway, back to the point - I'm the group's lucky charm. It's cool at how I can easily dodge blows just by pure luck and think up brilliant solutions because of luck. But I think I would give anything to throw away this troublesome errand. Cronus is someone I don't really care for, and defeating him is simply a waste of my precious time. I could be taking a spa or getting a manicure or something, which is a better usage of my spare time. Being a lucky charm doesn't mean I'm always lucky, it only means that I'm lucky for about... I don't know, 99.9 per cent of the time? And going up against Cronus may seem easy but it isn't really _that_ easy - it takes intelligence like mine to defeat him time and time again.

You know, don't tell anyone this, but I don't think I would trade it for anything in the world though. I may be seriously breaking nails here and there, but I've never had such good friends before. Now, don't go telling this to Jay or worse, Archie or anyone else for that matter. I've always been an outcast in my old school much. I mean, they didn't like me, and I couldn't fathom why. Why didn't they love such a hot genius like me? They kept keeping up the smart remarks of me being gay or something, but I just ignored them. I figured they were just jealous.

But with _these_ people, they weren't half as bad. Sure, Archie might keep poking at me and Odie might make jibs at me but then it's still pretty minor. Nothing I couldn't take. And most of them are actually _nice_ to me, like Jay. Not that I need niceness to keep me going, but yeah, it's a plus side. And they _do_ look out for me and they do care. And I think their addictive nature is rubbing off on me because I'm starting to become a more caring person. Well, I've never been narcisstic or anything like the others say, really, but apparently they think so. Anyway, what I _do_ know I'm becoming more heroic. Like the time I saved the team from Cronus' evil clutches when they lost their memory? And I actually gave away my prized stuff to Charon! Maybe I shouldn't hang out so much with them after all. What if I start giving away my mirrors to the poor? That would be horrible!

Anyway, I'm so useful and they really need me, so it's a no-go if Cronus tries to do some trade-off or something. These kind of friends aren't the type you can easily pick up on the streets, and frankly, I'm glad to have them around - that is, when I don't have other stuff to do with me at the moment, of course. A lucky charm like me is needed, so why pull out anyway? Not that I'll tell all this to the rest of the group. They won't ever to get to hear this.

And you won't tell them, will you?


	3. To Be A Fighter

Now for one of my favourite characters. This girl is a fighter and she's had her fair share of problems although she may seem like a rich kid without any troubles. I'm going to play on the word 'Fighter' as there are many connotations to it. I'll be looking at two meanings to what I hope will be deeper understanding to her character. After all, I've heard of people complaining that she's way too Jane Doe (?) and perfect. Well, she's made her mistakes and you've made yours, especially if you've been thinking if she's a pretty little rich kid who's way too perfect to be real enough. I think the chapter on Neil was a little tacky and not deep, and I apologise. I shall try my best to tackle this to the best of my abilities.(:

**To Be A Fighter**

Me the black belt, the one who seems so perfect, yet has had her fair share of problems as well.

I'm Theresa, the "rich kid", as most people call me. I've been a black belt since I was at a tiny age of 12, and my dad owns a cattle ranch - yep, you've heard it right. I've got my own flashy sports car and a lot of other cool gadgets that my friends might die to get their hands on. Oops, my bad - I meant my _old_ friends. They used to be envious of what I had.

I think the only thing worth mentioning are my current friends who are the best of the best. I don't think they even remember the fact that I'm supposed to be rich. They don't judge me because of that, and they don't think I'm some spoilt kid. I really appreciate the friendship they've given me, and it's the most valuable thing ever to me - considering that I don't have a mom anymore, and even though my dad's still around, he's not mentally present.

I am the fighter of the team, seeing that I'm, as I shall repeat, am a black belt, which has proved useful on several occasions in the past. I was a mighty good fighter even in the old days, since I was trained by the _best_ and taught _with_ the best. I could defeat a lot of people, which is not exactly surprising. Somehow, it seems really easy to just bring someone down to his knees, just like that. I guess this might come somewhere in the lines of being related to Theseus, who was a pretty good fighter himself. I've met him face to face as well, and he's a pretty good-looking guy. I would leave out the fact that he'd beat me quite a few times, but I think I should mention it just to stress how good he is - and how good I am at being able to last a few minutes with him as well, and that I actually beat him several times.

Archie is the other one who is worthy enough to be my opponent, I guess. We both learnt roughly the same things, and he descended from Archilles. The only difference is that while he is a grumpy closet poet, I'm a outgoing, cheerful person. At least I _hope_ so.

In the beginning, I thought this being whisked away by giants and brought to fight Cronus was just a whole reality tv show or something lame that I've seen on the television. After all, I hardly knew anything about Greek Mythology, and I only brushed up my knowledge of the subject after I've adjusted to my role in the team. I may be a good fighter, but fighting Cronus seems futile half the time. I can't really land a punch on him before he deflects my blow with one of his own stunningly painful ones. Sometimes, this gets really annoying. I guess it's also partly humbling. You know, I've always thought I was somewhat undefeatable. Of course, my self-confidence doesn't go to the extent of _Neil's_ - that'll be pure scariness.

In addition to my role as a fighter, I also play your friendly neighbourhood psychic. I'm the one with the powerful mind. Let me begin with all the rather cool things I can do. At first, I have these cool visions that tell me about the near future. They're little glimpses into the future, but I can't control them at the moment, so they can come anytime, anywhere. Me the clairvoyant. Next, I progressed to telepathy of sorts, which was just as useful. Now, I'm on my way to telekinesis. My telekinetic abilities are rather weak, so they can't do much, but they still provide some life-saving solutions at times. What about mind-reading, you say? I'm still working on that.

Okay, now if you've heard all these, you would have been convinced that I'm utterly perfect and without a single blemish. Now I would you like you to know several things.

One, my role as a fighter isn't easy at all. Half the time I feel handicapped when I fight against Cronus. I would like to think I really do some damage, but truth be known, I hardly ever do. I'm usually the one standing by, trying to get the group cheerful. I think my role as a cheer-everyone-up person works much better than my current assigned duty, which is yielding nearly nothing. I try to hide how lousy I am, but somehow I feel so tiny when I stand next to Cronus. Of course, that's not going to dampen my fighting spirit. I'm not going to let Cronus take over the world.

Two, my role as a psychic isn't any easier. I spend half the time waking up in the middle of the night, gasping in fear as I ponder over my latest vision. It's nowhere near pleasant. No one knows this, but I do see scary visions that have nothing to do with me nor the team. Occasionally, I will "spot" a person that I have no idea who he is and see him in face an unpleasant death - a car crash or something. Or I might have random, stalker visions. It isn't as cool as you think it to be. Plus, the person I love the most - Jay - keeps pressurising me to develop all these crazy talents. Apparently he thinks all these stuff grows on trees. Well, for your information, they don't. Not that I love Jay any less, I don't; but then, it's annoying how everyone rolls their eyes, more notably Archie, when I say I've got a vision. He thinks I'm being all drama queen on him again, but that's not the case. I bet he doesn't know how tough it is to be your friendly neighbourhood psychic. I think if he gave it go for one day, he'd run shrieking like Neil and beg for it to be taken away. Unfortunately, that's never going to happen so I'm going to have to face his smug smirk for possibly the rest of my life.

Three, I'm in love with someone. I've mentioned this in the earlier point. You know, I think I'm not being very discreet about my secret. It's a not-so-secret secret, just like Archie's crush on Atlanta, which is about tons more embarrassing and obvious than mine. Look, I know you already know I like Jay. That's the whole point of it. Much as I would like to keep it a secret, I decided a long time ago that I had to flirt a little and show I was at least interested. Of course, the initial attraction that I felt when I first saw him was merely a crush. But after a while, I started to see what a kind-hearted and honest person he was. He wouldn't hesitate to save anyone. I've never seen someone so dedicated to his job and treating it as really important, especially when it comes to saving lives. He is fiercely loyal, even to the point of following his friends to the death, which he has already proven to all of us. I still shudder as I remember the time he died. Thankfully, he's back and well. There's also other good qualities about him. He is smart, a great Literature-an if there's such a word, and he's cute. He's about the only one who can wear a striped polo sweater and puffy jeans and still look handsome. I think he's better looking than Neil. Of course, I'm not about to tell anyone that. That'll be way too personal. Plus, it would send the poor guy crying (Neil, not Jay).

The problem is, though I've been dropping "subtle" hints about just everywhere, Jay's just totally oblivious to everything I do or say. He's really cute, and innocent is cute too, but innocent in this context is just getting a tad bit too annoying. You'd think he'd be so smart to figure it out, but I guess his brain is too crammed full of Cronus to even think about anyone like me. Or maybe he just doesn't like me and he's too nice to tell me. Gah, it figures. That would be so Jay. But I'm still keeping the hope there.

Speaking of Cronus, this leads us to the next problem that revolves around our brown-haired leader - he's obsessive over Cronus. All he thinks about is Cronus day and night, and with the tiny little space he has left, he puts in his friends, his sailing and me. Alright, I'm not trying to make him sound mean or evil, and I know it's right for him to be worried, since, after all, he's our dedicated leader, but then he never relaxes. He never ever rests on his laurels, and here, I think this is a really bad thing. Maybe that's why he's been blatantly ignoring ever flirt I send in his way. I do like him, but this is just driving me plain crazy. I've fallen head-over-heels in love with this guy, and yet all he can do is stare blankly at me. Occasionally he does blush, but that tells me absolutely nothing. Concrete evidence is the way to go.

I know I talk about all of this in a rather joking manner, but you have no idea how much this has plagued me with. My nights aren't only haunted by nightmarish visions, they're also dominated by tears at times. And that, totally sucks.

Lastly, if all these haven't been enough to prove to you how imperfect I _really_ am, here's the last one. I've got skeletons in my closet, too, just as everyone else has. No one in the team knows this, and I bet they haven't exactly noticed I've never mentioned anything about my mother before. She died when I was just six, leaving me alone in this world, practically. I don't know, it was cancer that struck her for a year, and she really battled it. She was a fighter, better than I can ever be. She was always putting up a cheerful front for Dad and I and she was always hopeful and optimistic, just like I aspire to be. She had the fighting spirit I'm sure no one can ever rival - she wasn't physically strong, but mentally strong. She refused to give up without a good fight, but in the end, she just went down and she left.

My dad used to be a family man, but after Mom's death, he immersed himself totally in his work. Perhaps Mom's death left him shaken. Maybe he was just trying to run away from reality and escape the truth, just like I was. But he had done the wrong thing. He had left me without any support. And I was alone, as usual. Not to mention I didn't exactly have true friends. I just grew up, learning to rely on myself. Of course, money issues were non-existent and I could always get what I wanted, but I didn't ask all the time. I usually spent my time regretting that I hadn't spent enough time with my mum, or wondering what had my mum, such a beautiful, warm-hearted lady, done to deserve her departing from the world. It was a crushing truth that had, for a long time, sent me spiralling into my own depressing abyss.

Dad still is a workaholic and he hardly spends any time with me. Sometimes, I gaze at those photos we took together and wonder where all those times have gone. They don't seem that long ago, yet they don't seem that recent, either. It's unexplainable. Then I wonder who took away my father and replaced him with a fake drone and all. I know he's had a lot of stress and all, but I really wonder if he loves me anymore, or if he even had in the first place. The striking orange hair is all that serves as a link between us; there's nothing more, nothing less.

I'm a fighter - I fight Cronus almost everyday. And in other terms, I fight the diminishing hope that centres around Jay, I fight my fears of visions, I fight... I fight reality. Fighting reality isn't a good thing, but now, I've learnt to accept the hard facts of life and move on. And maybe that's what makes me a true fighter.

Don't you think?


	4. To Be A Huntress

Sorry I haven't updated this fic in a long time, kinda forgot about it. Was swept away with the preparation and research for **A Random Christmas Story**, that's all. But anyway, here I am, and I bring to you the second last chapter of To Be Part of the Team! I know the title seems a tad bit too uninteresting and so does the summary, but I keep to simple titles most of the time. Hmm.

Disclaimer: I felt like disclaimer-ing for no good reason today, so here I am. I don't claim to own Class of the Titans, and hey, this idea was a suggestion from Becky Sky from my first ever COTT fic, To Be A Leader. Yes.

**To Be A Huntress**

_I hunt, I stalk, I watch you with beady eyes..._

Alright, I was just kidding. I'm not a stalker, I'm Atlanta, the "hunter" of the group. The one with the fiery red, short, cropped hair and the one who loves sports and skate-boarding and her favourite purple-haired dork - ahem, _warrior_.

I've never thought much about being the superhero type, so when I was asked, I was personally very thrilled. I mean, all those action flicks show all the kicks and everything. It'd be cool if I became the save-the-world kind. So, I encouraged Jay to stay on. I mean, that guy's the leader. He would probably have a fair share of excitement as well. If he skipped out, he'd be missing a _lot_.

After joining the team, I never once regretted it, but then I did miss my old farm life and the relaxed slow pace of the good times back then. But here, I made good friends - better than I ever had, really. True friends who stuck by you and defended you and cared for you... But this thing wasn't as easy as it seemed.

I mean, there's Cronus, this bad fellow who hasn't had the sense to stop trying to take over the world. _He_ knows it's futile, _I_ know it's futile and we _all_ do, but he doesn't have common sense, obviously, or he's too stubborn to try and even coax himself into ending this crazy war. It's just driving all of us crazy, especially, Jay. It's taking a toll on our poor leader, and I fear he's going to snap soon or something. I guess being a leader isn't all that cracked up to be.

And then I still have to go to school, and take tests, and go for training... It's a wonder I even get to stop and breathe! Everyone in the dorm calls me neurotic, but don't you listen to them. I just like to do well, that's all. And how can I even do well when I'm too busy fighting and beating up pathetic evil people? Ridiculous, really. And all the rest of them get by easily - I don't even see them studying, but when they get back their results, they'd have gotten, what, an A? Particularly Jay, Odie and Archie. Odie's our regular brainiac, with an IQ that will make you drop dead when you just hear it. Jay's not too far off, either - he does consistently well and everything, even in Literature, which seems a little weird since you'd think he'd love Physics more since it has to do with sailing and all. And Archie - well, he's pretty smart in his own little ways. Alright, _very_ smart, I admit. Although you won't be hearing this come from me.

Being the hunter of this group is cool. I mean, people rely on me to sniff out stuff, hunt things, all that. And it's not that hard, either, seeing I've gotten all the training back when I was a kid. Still... Well, Jay counts on me to do these things, to play my role. You know, it's scary if I can't. I want to be an asset to the team and all, and sometimes I just mess things up. They call me hot-headed, impulsive and rash. Well, I'm not exactly as bad as they make me sound, but yes I do confess that I'm a _teeny_ bit like that. A teeny, teeny bit.

You know, I've messed things up sometimes and the team just forgives me. Which is why I stick around and everything. I don't know, if only I can be as good as they are. I'm the junior, the youngest of the group... Probably the most inexperienced one. Not that Archie's much older than me or anything, there's only about three months' difference between our ages.

I know nobody's perfect and all, and I've just got to try harder. At least I'm not obsessed over Cronus like our leader is, and I'm not as unconcerned as our resident model. I'll be the best huntress I can, and play the best friend that uproots her purple-haired dork in victory.

And that's me.


	5. To Be A Warrior

It seems I have left this story not updated for a long time. This is the last chapter, and I think I forgot that I hadn't completed it. Whoops, my bad. So now I shall just simply finish it. Do review if you have the time, I greatly appreciate it.

**To Be A Warrior**

I have been called many terms before. To my deceased parents, I was their lovely child. To the orphans back in the orphanage, I was the nerdy kid, the closet poet, the one who was afraid. To the bullies, I was an easy target. To my current friends, I was just that - a friend.

And to myself? To myself, I was a warrior.

Archie the warrior. Now how does that sound?

I had spent my life fighting away all sorts of realities. When my parents passed on, I didn't think I would be able to move on. I guess, in a bad way, I had fighting spirit - the strength to keep pushing away the harsh truth that they were gone. I became subdued, grouchy and withdrawn. Then I was thrown into an orphanage, the only sole survivor of my family. They had, coincidentally, no relatives, so I was alone in this world.

It was hard for me. The orphanage was full of lonely, turned-rotten kids. Bullies lurked at every corner, waiting to steal anything you had. I remembered Christmas, where I'd gotten my tattered, secondhand toys. Later, as I returned to my room, a bunch of kids roughed me up and took the toys away. So instead of a merry Christmas, I was sporting a black eye the next day. I didn't know why they didn't pick on the other kids as much as they did to me. Maybe they saw who I was, a cowering kid hiding behind fantasies. Maybe that was it. Maybe because I didn't move on, and I was still trapped and bound to my past. It was a hideous thing.

Somewhere along the way, when I was getting bullied again in the old playground just outside the orphanage, it happened. They were pushing me around, a whole gang of them. Jeering at me, mocking me, spitting in my face. I was surrounded, and stuck. They closed in on me like vultures with its dead prey, and the fear kept coming on me, again and again. I remembered the little bits of Archilles' story my mother used to tell me when I was young. And when one of them finally pushed me to the ground, something in me snapped. The anger, the fury I had been bottling up for so long just rushed out like that. My heart was bursting with unknown, rejuvenated power - the power of anger. I punched, hit, kicked with surprising accuracy, and not one of them left later without at least a bruise. They punched, hit and kicked back, of course, and in the end, I was still the loser. But it didn't matter. That situation had awakened a new kind of fighting spirit within me.

I became the warrior.

You could say I was like a street fighter, rebellious. I didn't want to listen to all those old, seemingly nice but actually nasty ladies - caretakers, they call them - and I didn't want to sucuumb to any bullying. Gradually, they picked on me less and less, and instead, I grew to become the bully of bullies, the 'protector of the weak', you might call it. Any other newcomer orphan might find themselves being mercilessly bullied, and here I was, just itching to start a fight with the instigators. And I did.

Countless of times I tried to escape from the prison, but no avail. I had the bravery of a warrior, the strength and skill of a warrior. But I lacked something back then. I didn't know what, and it wasn't like I bothered either, honestly speaking.

To me, all I wanted to do was to get out of that dump and on to a new life, away from the horrible childhood I had.

As they say, "Be careful of what you wish for, it might just come true." The year after I dyed my hair, I was whisked away to New Olympia. What with the fancy griffins and evil giants and all, but to cut a long story short, I'm leaving that out. Anyway, I did hold my own for a while, but I welcomed the save from the griffins, of course. Hermes' griffins.

I'm an unbeliever, usually. I mean, if a short, dressed-pretty-weird guy called Hermes - sorry Hermes! - showed up on flying animals and said, "Good morning, Archie. How's it going?" like nothing ever happened, would you flip, or would you flip? In that case, I flipped (not like there was any other option). And I rubbed my eyes until they were sore, but still I saw the same thing.

When we reached New Olympia, however, I was already making plans. Here was my big chance! I was away from the orphanage, and judging from how far we flew, it wasn't highly likely that I was ever going to make it back there - thank goodness for that. Should I try to wander around in the streets? Get a job? Get a new life, at least? Anything sounded plausible, and I was ready to try just about anything.

I tried to escape from the school, but the girls caught me. And then and there I met my first best friend that I would ever had. Atlanta. Theresa would usually love to draw parallels between us - what, we both had striking hair, the same stubborn-as-a-mule personality, and we could fight amazingly well. And maybe that's why we became friends. Maybe that's why I had a crush on her. Maybe that's why I gradually fell in love with her. None of that matters much now, because what truly matters was how she brought me out of that shell.

There was something about her that made me open up to her. I bared my weaknesses to my friends, and I was finally vulnerable. Not because I took off my heel brace or anything, but because I had let down my defenses. Those walls around my heart? I lowered them, and later, I destroyed them completely. With them, there seemed to be nothing to hide at all. They would accept you for whoever you were, especially Atlanta, seeing that she was closest to me.

I loved them, and I think for once someone loved me, too. My friends, that is.

They gave me the strength to realise how much I was missing out on. That didn't mean I would forget my parents, but at least not relish in the hurt anymore. Letting go set me free, and it's a surprise that they managed such a task without even knowing my inner inhibitions.

Out of them was born a new heart. The thing I was lacking so far, was the _heart_ of a warrior.

The stainless purity to carry through the hurts. The warmth to accept my friends. The humanity to protect and love.

Suddenly, I was a warrior in my own right.

And I would be, from now on, because of my friends.


End file.
